The Flint Township woman lost her son, her daughter-in-law lost her husband and her grandchildren lost their father when 37-year-old Ron Voelker died on March 27, and she is going to fight until justice is served.

"My son is not going to die in vain," she said. "It's personal now."

More than four years ago, Ron Voelker moved his wife Sharlotte Voelker and their five children into their home on Morrish Road in Gaines Township.

In 2007, he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of liver cancer and soon after, his daughter Shyra, 19, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease — a form of lymphoma.

That's when the family found out about the high level of arsenic in their water and the 40-acre former dump about a block away from their home.

According to a report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Berlin and Farro Liquid Incineration, Inc. operated unauthorized waste storage lagoons, illegally buried tanks of waste water, poured liquid waste onto agricultural drains and dumped thousands of gallons of barreled waste into pits at the site from 1971 to 1978.

The site was deleted from the National Priorities List in 1998 after an extensive clean up that started in 1983. According to the report, the site now meets all soil and groundwater cleanup standards and no contamination was found in any off-site ground water.

Jim Cheek | The Flint JournalRon Voelker (center) offers encouragement to David Sikorski (left) of Swartz Creek during a fundraiser for the Voelker family. Sikorski was diagnosed with the same type of cancer Voelker developed and was told he has just months to live.

The Voelker family was not told about any of this before they purchased their home, said Vicki Voelker.

Neal Wilensky, the Voelkers' attorney, said there is a pending case against the lender, Providence Bank, for not testing for arsenic before the family purchased the property.

According to the EPA report, in 2008, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality tests reveled a high level of arsenic in the ground water at the site, but the report notes the level is within what is a normal range for ground water in this area.

Voelker said she isn't buying that.

"I'm tired of the corruption. I'm tired of the government trying to cover their own behinds," she said. "They messed with the wrong family."

Now that spring is coming, the family will push for a soil test, said Voelker.

Sharlotte and the children still live in the house, she said. Though it's for sale, the family doubts anyone will buy it.

The family now has a reverse osmosis system that was donated to them to filter their water.

Every time someone is sick they go to the doctor for a check-up, Shyra said. Everyone is worried they'll get cancer too.

"That's how it is over there," she said.

Vicki Voelker said she hopes the lawsuit will allow her daughter-in-law and grandchildren to move to a safer environment.

Shyra has undergone chemotherapy and radiation for a large tumor in her chest and is doing well. She recently had a large cyst removed from one of her ovaries, and is awaiting test results.

She said before her dad died, she felt invincible and wished she could take her dad's cancer and beat it like she beat hers.

"It wasn't like that," she said. "His was aggressive."

Wilensky said Voelker had tremendous courage and went to court for each hearing about his case, no matter how sick he was.

"He insisted on being there," he said. "He really battled for his family."

Sen. John Gleason, D-Flushing, got to know the Voelkers and after hearing their story and organizing a fundraiser for the family.

"He was the toughest little guy I ever met in life," Gleason said. "Pound for pound the toughest guy I met in my life."

He said just knowing Voelker made him a better father because Voelker's unexpected situation reminded Gleason to spend more time with his family.

"I will do whatever that family asks me to do," he said of trying to help the Voelkers after they've had time to grieve. "Whatever they ask me to do, I'll help them with."

Sue Somers, a former Gaines Township trustee who was involved in fundraising efforts for the Voelker family, said Ron Voelker was a fighter.

"He was fighting it, but he was positive," she said. "He fought it to his last dying breath."

Stuart Bauer | Flint Journal file photoThis June 2008 photo of Ron Voelker (right) of Gaines Township and his daughter, Shyra Voelker, then 18, was taken before the family went to Disney World through the Children's Wish Fund. Seated from left in the background are Dillon, then 8; Ron, then 15; the senior Voelkers, Ron and Vicki of Flint Township; Sabreena, then 10; Ron's wife, Sharlotte; and Chelsey, then 15.